Abdominal shield

ABSTRACT

The abdominal shield is worn by an angler when fishing to prevent injury and irritation to the abdomen which might otherwise be caused by the butt end of a fishing rod rubbing or pressing against the abdomen. The shield distributes forces associated by the butt end of the fishing rod more widely and permits the angler to adjust the position of the fishing rod to achieve the leverage necessary to reel in the fish.

CROSS-REFERENCED TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

I. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to pads worn to absorb and distribute forces encountered when participating in sporting activity to reduce or eliminate the risk of injury. More specifically, the present invention relates to a shield worn by an angler while engaged in the sport of fishing to protect the abdomen from irritation or injury which can arise when the butt end of a fishing rod is brought into contact with the abdomen while reeling in a large fish.

II. Related Art

The sport of fishing continues to grow in popularity. Whether anglers are fishing for fresh water fish such as trout, walleye, catfish or Muskie, or saltwater fish such as tuna, swordfish or marlin, the goal is often to catch a large, if not the largest, fish.

Large Muskies, by way of example, often weigh thirty pounds or more. Some weigh almost seventy pounds. Swordfish often reach a weight of nearly 1400 pounds. Atlantic blue marlin can be as large as 1800 pounds. To reel in a fish weighing 1800 pounds, or even a fish weighing 30 pounds, requires a substantial amount of strength, stamina, and time.

To gain increased leverage while reeling in a large fish, anglers almost universally draw the butt end of the fishing rod into their abdomen. Due to the motion employed to operate the reel and the forces transferred through the fishing line and the rod to the butt end when fighting a fish, the butt end of the rod moves about. Over time, the rubbing of the butt end of the rod against the abdomen irritates and injures the skin of the angler. In some cases, and given the small cross-section of the butt end of the rod, abdominal muscle injuries may occur.

To help anglers control the butt end of a fishing rod, various socket arrangements have been developed. These are usually held in place using a belt surrounding the angler's waist. Such arrangements are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,068,054 to Haislip issued Jan. 19, 1937; U.S. Pat. No. 3,885,721 to Vanus issued May 27, 1975; U.S. Pat. No. 4,081,115 to White et al issued Mar. 28, 1978, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,323 issued Apr. 4, 1989 to Braid. Such socket arrangements, however, are limiting because the position of the socket dictates a specific location for the butt end of the rod relative to the angler's body. This may not, however, be the best position for comfort or for the angler to maximize leverage or conserve strength. Also, as the battle to land the fish continues, it may be beneficial for the position of the butt end of the rod to be changed for the comfort of the angler. A change in position cannot occur because position of the socket dictates the position of the butt end of the rod.

In an effort to address the problems with such sockets, others have adopted a strategy of widening and/or padding the butt end of the rod. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,184 to Grosse issued Sep. 3, 1996 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,765,732 to Canevari issued Aug. 3, 2010. The Canevari patent discloses a T-shaped coupling device used to attach to the butt end of a fishing rod a pad shaped like the arm pit pad of a crutch used by someone with a leg injury. While some benefit is provided by these arrangements, injury and irritation can still arise.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The abdominal shield comprises a large and somewhat stiff plate which is curved to fit comfortably over and cover a portion of the abdomen of the angler. The plate, which is typically integrally formed of plastic using an injection molding process, has front and back surfaces, and first and second opposing ends. The plate has an outer frame comprising at least one raised lip surrounding a central area. The central or fighting area has a number of perforations extending through the plate from the front to the back surfaces to permit air to flow through the plate and body heat generated by the angler to pass readily through the plate. The perforations are smaller than the butt end of a typical fishing rod so that the butt end of the fishing rod cannot pass all the way through the perforations and directly engage the abdomen of the angler. The surface area of the plate is much larger than the butt end of the fishing rod so that the plate is able to adequately distribute, over a large area of the abdomen, forces encountered by the butt end of the fishing rod contacting the plate.

The central fighting area of the plate may also comprise a plurality of cells defined by ribs. The ribs surrounding a cell may be used to help anchor the butt end of the rod at a particular location in the fighting area. The butt end, of course, may be easily moved from cell to cell as desired by the angler, but the ribs defining the cells inhibit the butt end from sliding across the plate when the butt end is in contact with the plate.

A belt is coupled to the plate. The belt is sized to extend around the waist of the angler to secure the plate over the covered portion of the abdomen of the angler. The belt may be adjustable to accommodate different waist sizes.

The frame of the plate may include a pair of slots at opposite ends of the frame. One end of the first belt member may be coupled to the plate via one of the slots of the pair and one end of a second belt member may be coupled to the plate via the other slot of the pair. Various means can be used to join the free ends of the first and second belt members together so that the belt surrounds the angler with the plate held in position over the abdomen of the angler by the belt defined by the first and second belt members. Such means may include a belt buckle attached to the first belt member and a series of cooperating holes through the other belt member. Such means may be a button or series of buttons on one belt member and a series of cooperating button holes on the other belt member. Such means may also include a pad of hook material on one belt member and a pad of loop material on the other belt member to provide a Velcro-type closure. Snaps and other types of mechanisms may be employed for adjustably securing the free ends of the belt members together without deviating from the invention.

Further details related to the construction, use and advantages of the abdominal shield will become readily apparent from reading the following detailed description in view of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an abdominal shield being used by an angler.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a plate which may be employed as part of the abdominal shield.

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the plate shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of an alternative plate which may be employed as part of the abdominal shield of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of another alternative plate which may be employed as part of the abdominal shield of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of still another alternative plate which may be employed as part of an abdominal shield.

FIG. 7 shows a first belt which may be used to secure any of the plates shown in FIGS. 1-6 over the abdomen of the angler.

FIG. 8 shows an alternative belt arrangement.

FIG. 9 shows an embodiment in which the belt and plate are integrally formed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 shows an abdominal shield 1 as worn by an angler when fishing. The abdominal shield includes a plate 10 and a belt 12 coupled to the plate 10. The belt 12 extends around the waist of the angler to secure the plate 10 in place over the abdomen of the angler. The rear of the plate is concave to match the convex contour of the angler's abdomen. This can be achieved through formation of the plate 10 from a rigid material such as metal or integrally molding the plate 10 of hard plastic such as PVC using an injection molding process. This shape may also be formed through the use of a relatively thick and rigid, but more pliable, material such as leather to form the plate. Also shown in FIG. 1 is an angler holding a fishing rod 14. The fishing rod 14 has a handle 16 and a butt end 18.

FIGS. 2-3 illustrate a first embodiment of plate 10. The design of the plate 10 shown in FIGS. 2-3 is such that the plate 10 may be integrally formed by molding plate 10 of a suitable plastic material. As shown, the plate has a concave back and a convex front. The concave back rests against the abdomen of the angler when in use as illustrated in FIG. 1.

The front of the plate 10 includes a frame 19 comprising top lip 20 and a bottom lip 23. The frame 19 also includes a pair of side lips 21 extending between and at opposite ends of the top lip 20 and bottom lip 23. The lips of the frame 19 define a central fighting area 22. The raised lips of the frame 19 help the angler maintain the butt end 18 of the rod 14 in the central fighting area 22 of the plate 10.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2-3, the central fighting area 22 includes a large number of perforations 24. These perforations 24 allow the plate to breathe, that is air can pass through the perforations 24 to assist in cooling the angler's abdomen. Not only can outside air reach the abdomen through the perforations 24, but body heat generated by the angler also may exit through the perforations 24.

The embodiment of FIGS. 2-3 also includes a plurality of ribs 30 which form cells 32. The ribs 30 and cells 32 create a honeycomb-shaped pattern throughout the central fighting area 22. Each cell is large enough to receive the butt end 18 of the fishing rod 14. The rib portions 30 defining a cell 32 serve to prevent the butt end 18 from sliding along the front surface of the central fighting area 22. However, when the angler decides to adjust the position of rod 14, the butt end 18 is easily moved between cells. As is also made clear from the drawings, the perforations 24 are much smaller than the butt end 18 of the rod 14. This ensures the butt end 18 does not pass through the plate 10.

FIGS. 2 and 3 also show the plate 10 has opposite ends 25 and 27 separated from the central fighting area 22 by the side lips 21. End 25 has a first elongate slot 26. End 27 has a second elongate slot 28. Slots 26 and 28 are provided to enable a belt 12 to be readily attached to the plate 10 so the abdominal protector 1 may be worn as shown in FIG. 1. FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate just two of the many different belt arrangements which may be employed. As best shown in FIG. 3, the back of the plate 10 is relatively smooth.

FIG. 4 shows a first alternative embodiment of the plate 10. As illustrated, the plate 10 has an outer frame 19 surrounding a central fighting area 22. Located within the central fighting area is a plurality of perforations 24. The perforations 24 are each large enough to permit air to pass through the plate 10 and body heat to escape through the plate 10. At the same time, the perforations 24 are small enough so that material of the plate 10 surrounding each perforation blocks the butt end of an angler's fishing rod from coming into contact with the abdomen of the angler. Each perforation 24 may be sized and shaped to provide a seat for the butt end 18 of the fishing rod 14. The round perforations 24 illustrated in FIG. 4 work well as such a seat for the butt end 18 if the butt end 18 of the fishing rod is semi-spherical as shown in FIG. 1. Generally speaking, the diameter of the butt end of a fishing rod is one inch or more. The perforations 24 should therefore be less than about a half inch in diameter.

Located on opposite sides of the central area 22 of the plate 10 shown in FIG. 4 are slots 26 and 28. Slots 26 and 28 are positioned between the central area 22 and the adjacent end, end 25 in the case of slot 26 and end 27 in the case of slot 28. Elongate slots 26 and 28 pass completely through the frame 20 of plate 10 and may be used to couple the belt 12 to the plate 10.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the plate 10. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the plate 10 comprises an outer frame 19 surrounding a central area 22. At opposite sides of the central area 22 are elongate slots 26 and 28 for coupling the belt 12 to the plate 10. The central area comprises elongate, generally rectangular perforations 24 which permit air to pass through and body heat to escape through plate 10. The dimensions of the perforations 24 illustrated in FIG. 6 are again small enough to prevent the butt of the angler's fishing rod from passing entirely through the plate 10. The material surrounding the perforations 24 is strong enough to prevent the plate 10 from breaking by the forces delivered to the plate 10 by the butt end 18 of the fishing rod 14 while fishing. The rectangular-shaped perforations 24 illustrated in FIG. 5 work well if the butt end of the rod is flat rather than semi-spherical. This permits a portion of the edge of the butt end 18 to reside in a rectangular perforation while preventing the butt end 18 from contacting the angler's body.

FIG. 6 shows still another embodiment of the plate 10. In this embodiment, the plate 10 again has an outer frame 20, a central area 22, and elongate slots 26 and 28 extending through the plate 10 on opposite sides of the central area. The central area comprises a plurality of ribs 30 extending outwardly and forming a plurality of six-sided cells 32. The ribs 30 and cells 32 form a honeycomb-like pattern as in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2-3. The central fighting area 22 again includes perforations 24 which permit air to pass through plate 10 and body heat to escape. The number of perforations in FIG. 6 is smaller than the number of perforations in FIGS. 2-3. As shown in FIG. 6, a single six point star-shaped perforation 24 is located within each cell 32. Multiple perforations 24, and perforations 24 having different shapes, may be located within the individual cells as illustrated in FIGS. 2-3 without deviating from the invention. Whether one or more than one perforation 24 is provided in each cell 32, the perforation should be small enough to prevent the butt end 18 of the fishing rod from passing through the plate 10.

The ribs 30 and cells 32 of FIG. 6 are configured such that the butt end 18 of the rod can be seated within any individual cell 32 and cupped between the portions of ribs 30 defining that cell, without passing through the perforation(s) 24 extending through the plate. An angler can quickly and easily move the butt end 18 of the rod from cell to cell as desired. The portions of ribs 30 defining the walls of a cell inhibit the butt end 18 of the rod from sliding along the surface of the plate 10 unless the butt end 18 is extracted from the cell by the angler.

Those skilled in the art should recognize that the size, shape and number of cells 32, like the shape and number of the perforations 24, may be modified for aesthetic or other reasons without deviating from the invention.

FIG. 8 shows an inexpensive, but length adjustable belt 12 which may be employed to secure the plate 10 in place. The belt 12 shown in FIG. 8 is an elongate piece 40 of woven fabric having a first end 42 and a second end 44. Immediately adjacent each end 42 and 44 is a separate pad 46 of loop-style fabric attached to the elongate piece 40. Also attached to the elongate piece 40 adjacent to each pad 46 is a separate pad 48 of hook-style fabric. Each pair of pads comprising a pad 46 and a pad 48 may be employed to provide a Velcro-type attachment.

More specifically, end 42 of elongate piece 40 may be passed through elongate slot 26 of plate 10 and then folded back over such that the hooks of pad 48 engage the loops of pad 46 to secure end 42 of the belt 12 to the plate 10. Likewise, end 44 of elongate piece 40 may be passed through elongate slot 48 of plate 10 and folded back over such that the hooks of pad 48 of the other pair of pads engages pad 46 of such other pair to form a hook and loop Velcro-type attachment. The overall length of belt 12 may be easily adjusted to fit about the angler's waist by changing the point where the pad 48 comes into contact with the pad 46 of either pair.

FIG. 7 shows an alternative adjustable belt 12. In FIG. 7, the belt 12 has a first elongate belt member 50 and a second elongate belt member 52. An end of belt 50 is passed through slot 28, folded over, and then passed through a slot in the female member 62 of a side squeeze buckle 60. Next, the two ends of belt member 50 are stitched together as illustrated at 53 to join female member 62 to plate 10. Likewise, the first end 54 of the second belt member 52 is passed through slot 26, folded over, and stitched to the second belt member 52 to secure the second belt member 52 to the plate 10. End 56 of belt member 52 is coupled in an adjustable fashion to the male member 64 of the side squeeze buckle 60. The angler can secure the belt 12 around the waist by mating the female member 62 to the male member 64. The angler can adjust the belt 12 to fit by pulling on the free, second end 56 of belt member 52.

FIG. 9 shows an embodiment in which the plate member 10 and the two belt members 50 and 52 are integrally formed. Belt member 50 has a belt buckle 70 attached to the free end. Belt member 52 has a longitudinal line of apertures 74 extending through it near its free end. To secure the free ends of the belt together, the stem 72 of the bucket 70 is mated with one of the apertures 74. The belt is adjustable because the stem 72 may be mated with any of the apertures 74.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the foregoing description related to buckles and length adjustment is not intended to be limiting. Virtually any known type of buckle or any known length adjustment technique for belts may be employed without deviating from the invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An abdominal shield worn by anglers to protect the angler's abdomen from the butt end of a fishing rod, the abdominal shield comprising: a. A plate covering a portion of the abdomen of the angler, the plate comprising first and second opposing ends, an outer frame comprising at least one lip, a central area comprising a plurality of perforations, each perforation of the plurality large enough to permit air to pass through the plate and body heat generated by the anger to escape through the plate, each perforation of the plurality of perforations small enough to prevent the butt end of the fishing rod from passing through the plate; b. A belt coupled to the plate, said belt sized to extend around the waist of the angler to secure the plate over the covered portion of the abdomen of the angler.
 2. The abdominal shield of claim 1 wherein the belt is adjustable to accommodate different waist sizes of different anglers.
 3. The abdominal shield of claim 1 wherein the belt is integrally formed with the plate.
 4. The abdominal shield of claim 1 further comprising a first elongate slot extending through the plate adjacent the first of the opposing ends, and a second elongate slot extending through the frame adjacent the second of the opposing ends.
 5. The abdominal shield of claim 4 wherein the first and second elongate slots are used to couple the belt to the plate.
 6. The abdominal shield of claim 1 wherein the belt includes a buckle.
 7. The abdominal shield of claim 1 wherein the central area of the plate further comprises a plurality of ribs extending outwardly from the front surface of the plate and defining a plurality of cells.
 8. The abdominal shield of claim 7 wherein the plurality of cells form a honeycomb-shaped pattern.
 9. The abdominal shield of claim 7 wherein each cell is large enough to receive the butt end of the fishing rod.
 10. The abdominal shield of claim 9 wherein the rib portions defining a particular one of the cells in which the butt end of the fishing rod is positioned prevent the butt end of the rod from sliding along the plate unless the butt end is extracted from the cell.
 11. The abdominal shield of claim 7 wherein the perforations are located within the cells.
 12. The abdominal shield of claim 1 wherein a plurality of perforations are located within at least one of the cells.
 13. An abdominal shield worn by anglers to protect the angler's abdomen from the butt end of a fishing rod, the abdominal shield comprising: a. a plate covering a portion of the abdomen of the angler, the plate comprising first and second opposing ends, an outer frame comprising at least one lip, a central area comprising a plurality of perforations and a plurality of cells defined by rib portions, each cell of the plurality of cells large enough to receive the butt end of the fishing rod used by and angler, each perforation of the plurality of perforations large enough to permit air to pass through the plate and body heat generated by the anger to escape through the plate, each perforation of the plurality of perforations small enough to prevent the butt end of the fishing rod from passing through the plate; b. a belt coupled to the plate, said belt sized to extend around the waist of the angler to secure the plate over a portion of the abdomen of the angler.
 14. The abdominal shield of claim 13 wherein the belt is adjustable to accommodate different waist sizes of different anglers.
 15. The abdominal shield of claim 13 wherein the belt is integrally formed with the plate.
 16. The abdominal shield of claim 13 further comprising a first elongate slot extending through the plate adjacent the first of the opposing ends, and a second elongate slot extending through the plate adjacent the second of the opposing ends.
 17. The abdominal shield of claim 16 wherein the first elongate slot and the second elongate slot are employed to couple the belt to the plate.
 18. The abdominal shield of claim 13 wherein the belt includes a buckle.
 19. The abdominal shield of claim 13 wherein the plurality of cells form a honeycomb shape.
 20. The abdominal shield of claim 19 wherein the rib portions defining a particular one of the cells in which the butt end of the fishing rod is positioned prevent the butt end of the rod from sliding along the plate unless the butt end is extracted from the cell. 